Yesterday a good friend and I went on a little trek. We met up about 9:30 am on Saturday and loaded up on our motorcycles without a real plan let alone a good means of communication while riding. We figured we’d just kind of freestyle.
I tried to mostly let him lead the way since he knows the area better. We traveled through Central Point, Jacksonville and Ruch. There were some really beautiful views along the way, and some really fun turns we took at a reasonable speed.
Google lost track of me by the time we hit Ruch and I never checked it any of the times we stopped so I can’t really be sure on the distance we traveled. I’d honestly bet it was about about 70 miles.
The video I captured on my GoPro is, of course, an extremely long video because we took a freaking 3 hour long road trip. I plan to edit it down to just the highlights, but for now, this is what you’ve got.
I want to start off by saying I do not own the Mega Chill 2 however if I had a more frequent justification I would purchase one quick fast and in a hurry. I have had recent experience with the Mega Chill 2 and let me tell you, it lives up to its name. It floats as advertised and a great deal of cans. I will say, it boasts 72 cans, I do not live in a world where cans keep themselves cold though so really we only got away with about 50ish…
My friend had the Mega Chill 2 in tow all 5ish hours of our recent float and although it is a bit unwieldy, it took the minor rapids very well. Be aware, a vessel that is full of cans that are also full of liquid, it is not only hard to maneuver but it is also hard to beach.
Price: $26 very reasonable compared to what you can find out there. There are a lot of flotation devices for your cooler that don’t float as well, cost more and your cooler ends up really banged up not to mention usually full of more water than you probably want.
Quality: what you’d expect for a standard flotation device with some pretty standard features; cup holders, handles and a tie down loop.
I haven’t come up with a rubric or anything yet but I’d give the Mega Chill 2 a solid 4.5/5 and the only thing I wish it had was a bottle opener, but really it would be hard to incorporate something like that.
Alright folks, this here is my 2013 CBR500R. I bought it in January of 2018 with only 586 miles on it. Practically brand spankin’ new. I had been on a few different smaller motor bikes before, a couple 250 cc bikes, a 3 and a 4 wheeler. I bought it for a couple of reasons, primarily because it is crazy cheap to own and operate. No emissions tests, insurance is way cheaper than you might expect, it averages 56 mpg, better when I obey the speed limits 🙂
I prepared for buying this beauty by doing research, looking into best values vs performance, I went to California’s motorcyclist safety course where they instructed me on general use and techniques before taking me out onto a course (parking lot at the local Jr College) and put me on their beat up old 250cc Yahama somethin’ or other. Two sessions of that later and I figured I was ready. I bought my bike the following Friday and rode it home from work. I had never been on a bike and gone above 30 mph or so and I really was not prepared. I tried to take back roads, looked at several different routes and did everything I could to avoid going on the freeway. It was a terrifying thing to overcome. I pulled over, took a walk and a smoke, mounted up and did it anyway.
The moment I hit the freeway and got to 50 mph, I realized just how bad ass I was. And the rest, as they say, was history.
ANYWHOOOO
This is about the bike. Now, as I mentioned, I don’t have a ton of experience with motorcycles, however, I love this bike. It is quick, very well balanced, maneuverable and soooooo so fun. So here’s the good:
56ish MPG; I ride mostly on the interstate for a steady 10 min so to and from work.
Well balanced; helps when making quick corrections, using your body to lean into turns.
Quick; and I don’t mean fast in this one, I mean it gets up and goes when you turn the throttle. 0-60 in about 6 seconds (timing in my head, maybe one of these days I’ll do a video and we can get an accurate time)
Fast; I won’t say how fast I’ve gone on this thing, mother might read this…but it’s fast….
It looks prettyyyyyyy. I get compliments pretty often.
Not so good:
It’s so freaking quiet; When I’m going any faster than 45 mph I can’t hear my own muffler. It’s got such a big can on it, it’s almost 5 ft away from my helmet and by proxy; my ears. Not hearing my motor is kind of a problem for me because I like to hear how my engine is responding.
IT’S SO FREAKING QUIET; I put this again because I wish it made more noise. When I lane split or even accelerate to pass, I wish other motorists could hear me approach and know I’m coming.
The grips are a bit slick; they don’t have much texture to them and they’re pretty flush to the bars. It’d be one thing if they had a little give and I could squeeze tighter to get better grip, but I can’t. My gloves aren’t great quality though and honestly they feel a little oily so that’s definitely contributing to the problem…
Anyway those are just some of the things I’ve noticed about the bike in the year and a half I’ve been riding. I’ve put over 5k miles on it since I bought it. I’ve logged hours for sure and plan to log many, many more.
If you read this whole thing, thank you. If you liked what you read or have anything you think I missed, let me know. Leave a comment if you have any input.
Commute to work, at about 6 min a truck throws a rock (roughly golf ball size) up from the road that glances off my helmet. #SouthernOregon #RideEveryDay #IRodeToday #TwoWheelsDown #MedfordOR #TalentOR #JacksonCounty
What you see here is an unedited, raw compilation of clips recorded during a 5ish hour float down the Applegate River in Southern Oregon. It includes 6 dudes, 8 or so tubes, about 50 beers and one hell of a good time. Be aware, it is unedited so some clips are good, some are bad, messy and riddled with curse words. Enjoy.
Bear (🍯🐻) in mind folks, I did not have very much to work with when recording this video. I was using a friend’s raft and didn’t feel comfortable affixing a mount to it that I probably would never be able to remove. I also had to juggle between snapping some video, using my oar to avoid rocks and other obstacles, and of course drinking my beer.
We all had a ton of fun, only one of us got sun burnt I think. Someone who will remain nameless went through 3 rafts. All in all a very successful excursion. I’d do it again in again in a heartbeat given the time and opportunity to. I wanna take a moment to thank my buddy Isaiah for inviting me and my wife and daughter for putting up with me being gone so long and exhausted at the end of it all. Thank you! 🙏
I’ll be floating on the Applegate River tomorrow. Any gear used, techniques or skills acquired will be reported shortly thereafter. Be on the lookout….
What you see so far is just a prologue, reviews will be on their way shortly. Would love input on what to review first; Knife, Multi Tool, Key organizer, Cell phone, Sidearm or something Motorcycle related. Leave a comment and maybe I’ll do the thing…or whatever.
Well, believe it or not, this ought to take up a good deal of thought and should almost entirely be inspired by necessity. What do you really need throughout the day? What could you live without and is there something you may need that could potentially make the difference between a good day and a rough day. For instance: you need your keys most of the time right? Do you always need chapstick? Nooooo however if you can carry it and it won’t be busting out of your pocket, why not carry it instead of chewing on your dead lips all day? Right???
Anyway, that’s the type of logic I like to apply to what I carry with me every day.
Know your gear…
I’m the type of person who likes to know his gear inside and out. I love taking things apart and putting them back together, particularly if I can improve it’s performance once it’s back together. I also find it extremely helpful to understand how my gear works so that I can have a deeper knowledge of it’s limitations and application.
As a for instance, I have often used the back of my pocket knifes handle as a bottle opener because it’s durable, I can get adequate leverage with it and most importantly; it’s a beater knife and I know I can abuse it.
How do I carry it all?
Yet another piece of this puzzle that should take some consideration. I plan to use these things in everyday life, there is a limit to how much I can carry. How does this piece affect that? Puzzling your gear together in a way that is comfortable and accessible will be very important for a couple of reasons; The moment arises when you should use your pry tool for a task only now you have to dig it out of wherever it is now in your pocket. I personally have a standard layout for how I keep my pockets organized and can instantly grab what I need from each pocket. Some people like pocket organizers and while I totally understand the desire and appeal to them, personally I think they just add more bulk which is always something I try to minimize. Think about what you’re carrying, what hand you’ll use to grab at it, where it ought to go and how it might fit alongside other things in your pocket. Play around with it and see how you feel. Change it up once in a while if you want, even if just to validate the way you carry.
Use it!
Obviously if you’re going to carry all that gear around, find excuses to use it. Why the hell not? See a box that’s being thrown out? Cut that bitch down! Screw loose on a fixture at work? Bust out that handy multi tool and crank it DOWN!
Hello internet peoples, my name is Bill. I come to you from a humble and modest home full of love and more importantly toys. The term toys can be a very broad one as you might initially think I’m talking about my daughters Ms. Potato head over in the corner when really what I’m talking about is the Gerber MP600 in my pocket.
You see, people in general, no matter their age, have toys; and that’s what I want to talk to you folks about. Namely: my toys. In the coming posts you’ll get to (that’s right, lucky you) read about my opinions and practical applications of my various toys or gear and potentially skills I’ve used with said gear.
Now, about me. I told you that I come from a humble home and blah, blah, blah. A question you’ve probably already posed in your head is “What the hell makes him so bloody qualified to tell me what he thinks about anything? Who is this Spacecowboy Bill fella anyway?” Well…I am a father, husband, joker, outdoors-man and all around doer of things. I have camped and fished since I was old enough to remember. I have always been adventurous, to a fault some may say. I’m always willing to step outside of my comfort zone if it means learning a new skill or feeling accomplished that I did something new and different. I can be pretty overconfident sometimes but hey, it’s worked out pretty well so far.
I’ve carried various types of toys since I was a teenager, from pocket knives to caribiners, compasses, church keys and many more. I have always found ways to use what I carry with me for either their intended uses or maybe just a tad outside of that. This has given me an interesting perspective on overall utility of toys and how to play with them.
Alright, enough of the whole “toys” allegory, I’ll refer to it as gear from here on out. Suffice it to say, I use gear. I use it every day, in practical applications that ought to relate to how some of you would typically use it or even carry it. Maybe you’ve been interested in carrying this or that, or trying your hand at this skill, well, the plan is this: via this blog, I will be explaining to you my experiences with such things. I may even post a video or twelve, I don’t know, let’s see how it goes…
SpaceCowboyBill 